Suction box



May 24 1927 J. H. REEDY ET AL SUCTION BOX Filed April 7. 1925 MQW@ Puente! M., 24, 1927.

UNITED STilvrlss lia'rizrr ortica.

JOIIB. um AND THGIAS A. CAPI, 0l' HAIILTO, OHIO, ABBIGIOBS Tim oxuxnon conan rma conm,

OHIO.

or Hamaca, omo, a .comunes or suenen nox.

muuu ma apra 1,1m. semi in.A 31,401.

Our invention relates to suction boxes in general and particularly as required for removing the excess moisture from paper stock in paper making machines such as the well t known Fourdrinier type. v

In making paper on such a machine it is usual to provlde a tank in which the fiocculent paper stockis settled in a sheet on a moving screen. The screens used for this purpose are in the form of endless belts which are supported on interspaced rollers. At the inlet end of this endless screen belt the sheet of paper is very wet. As it travels along the belt much of the Water drips olf,

l5 but 1t aids very materially to provide suction boxes abutting the screen which pull the excess water from the sheet through the screen. It'is particularly' to improvements in suction boxes for the foregoing purposes that our invention relates.

Provision must be made in the suction box to blank off the unused sides of the screen when a sheet of paper of less width than the maximum width of the screen is to be run. Heretofore it has been customary to provide blankin oiiz members within the suction box whic are adjustable from a rod located at the ends of the box. This has never provided a very ositive, and sure way of blanking oi the si es of the suction box l so that our invention further relates to improvements in the provision for transverse gjustment of the openings into the suction It is a further object of our vinvention to provide a suction box which will be light in construction and which will not have any tendency to sag at the middle of the screen and so make an imperfect seal between the box and the screen. It is further our object to construct a suction box which may be easily inserted and withdrawn and which may also be easily cleaned out. The resultant eilect of our new box on the paper made is to take water from the sheet more uniformly, to prevent undue streaking of the sheet, and to lengthen the life of the endless screen belt.

These several objects we accom lish by 5 that certain structure hereinafter escribed and claimed.

In the drawing:

-Figure 1 is a side elevation of a suction the end of the suction box opposite the suc- -l tion line.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of one form of blanking-off rail for the transverse adjustment of the opening in the box.

Flgure 6 is a section corresponding with the section shown in Figure 2 in which a modified form of abutment rail is used, made from an integral piece, and

F1 ure 7 is a perspective view of a modified orm of adjustment rail for the end of the box which may be used in conjunction with the integral abutment rail shown in Fi ure 6. y .i

enerally indicated at 1 are the -walls of the hollow casing or box which are" preferably` ofpmetal or other rigid material. An aperture 2 forms a suction opening longitudinally of the box. The ends of the` box are open for attachment of a suction pipe laL at one end and a plate l" closes the other end. The upper sides are flanged over at 3 widthways of the box so as to form a platform and upwardly extending dovetails 4 are disposed in the upper lface of the flanged portions. In the first form shown wooden strips or rails 5 are provided with cooperating grooves 6 which engage the dovetails so that the wooden strips may be pushed into position on the flanged portions 3 4from the ends of the box, leaving the suction aperture between them. `The rails are as noted preferably of wood, but it is also possible 'to construct them of composition material or soft metal, the particular reason for the use of wood is that it may be planed ofi' when it becomes worn and-it does not provide a hard bea-ring structure which would tend to wear out the screen. At each end the rails are recessed as at 6El and a plate 7 is slidably en- 'gaged in the recessed portion and a rail portion 8, mounted on the plate, fills up the opening between the rails 5 so that by pushing these plates toward the center of the box, the ends may be eifectively blankedo so that a sheet of less width than the maximum hinder perfect suction within the box with-l drawing 'the moisture from the sheet of a er.

P 'llhe box is attached to the side frames 9 of the` machine by bolts 10 which pass through holes 11 in the flanged end portlons 12 of the box. Adjustment bolts 13 or screws are disposed on both sldes of the bolts 10 which abut the frame and whlch may be used to tighten the tension on the bolts 10 when they are set in the deslred position.

Inasmuch as it is frequently necessary to remove the wooden strips 5 which abut the screen and to plane them ofi' to provide a smooth bearing surface, the supportlng flanges 12 at the ends should be below the locking tongues 4 and the whole box should be adjustable from the frame in order to allow for the planing down of the wooden strips.

It will be further noted that the lower corners of the box are formed with longitudinally extended webs 14 formed integrally with the box. These webs materially reinforce the rgidness of the box and prevent sagging vin the middle. When it is desired to make a sheet of less width than the maximum suction opening, the end rails 8 are pushed inwardly until the 'opening in the box is the equivalent of the width of the sheet to be made.

The preferred structure of abutment rail is that shown in Figure 6. In this the abutment rail instead of beingv separate rails is made in an integral piece 15, which has grooves 16 which are engaged in upwardly projecting undercut flanges 17. The portion of the rail opening into the a erture 2 in the casing is provided with ho es 18 which will preferably be tapered outwardly at the base. Tapering of these holes avoids the tendency forI the holes to become blocked up. The ends of the one piece rail are provided with recessed portions 19 below the level ofthe top, and truncated wedge-shapedv I .members 2O are slidably Aretained in the recessed portions. By pushing inwardly on .the members 20 transverse adjustment o the n opening area into the suction box may be f accomplished. The reason that this form of Gli vabutment rail is more satisfactory than the separate rails is that there is less tendency to uneven wear and warping, which results in much longer life for the screen.

The suction from the side of the box seems to distribute the suction action more evenly across the screen than the old type of suction box which was made of a hollow tank with a suction pipe threaded into the central part of the bottom. It will be further quite apparent that for cleaning a box made 1n, accordance with our invention, all that is required is to remove a cap 1" secured at the end opposite the suctlon end, and to flush the box out with water. The box top lor rails do not in either form of our invention require any nails or bolts to secure them to the casing so that there is no tendency forthe rails to ehi off and wearv as there would be if secure by any formjof metal tie.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent2 is 1. A suctlon box for paper machines comprising a hollow casing, o en at one end for attachment to a suction ine, a lengthwise opening in said casing, and slidably mounted screen engaging means protecting said opening, said screen engaging means havlng slideways at the ends thereof, and passage closing means slidable in said slideways.

2. A suction box for paper making machines comprising a hollow casing havin lateral flanges forming an integral top, said flanges leaving an opening between them, a suction connection at one end of the casing, and a removable closure for the other end of the casing to permit flushing, and means mounted on the box for protecting a screen passing over said opening.

3. A suction box for paper making machines comprising a hollow casing havin lateral flanges forming an integral top, sai flanges leaving an opening between them, a suction connection at one e'nd of the casing, and a removable closure for the other end of the casing to permit flushing, and means mounted on the box for protecting a screen paing over said opening, said means com' prising a foraminated integral body, and dovetails on the casing flanges for slidably engaging the same. Y

4. A suction box for paper making machines comprising a hollow tubular casing having a lengthwise central slot, and a lateral suction opening, means protecting the slot from contact with a paper machine screen, and means for mounting said box comprising hangers, bolts engaging the hangers, and the ends of the box, and spacing elements mount ed in one of said connected parts and engaging the other.

5. A suction box for paper making machines comprising a hollow tubular casing having a lengthwise central slot, and a lateral suction opening, means protecting the slot from contact with a paper machine lll screen. and means for mounting said box 6. In a suction box for a Fourdrinier paper making machine or the like, a hollow casing with flanged upper portions; tongue members extending from the upper faces of the flanged portions, screen abutting means with cooperating grooves secured in the tongue members forming transverse suction apertures opening into the hollow easing an-d adjustable filler members closing the ends of the transverse apertures, for regulating the transverse suction area into the caslng.

7. In a device of the character specified, a hollow metal casing, a flange and a plug at one end of the casing, a flange at the other end for connecting wit-h a suction pipe, means for retaining wooden means removable from the casing, said membersV adapted to make an opening into the hollow casing and ad- Justable means of supporting said easing from side frame members of a paper making machine.

8. In a suction box for a Fourdrinier paper making machine or the like, a hollow casing with means for detachably securing to said casing a screen abutting member, and means for securing said box to the frame members of said machine, said means comprising bolts retained in the casing and the frame of the machine with adjustment screws adjacent the bolts for securing the bolts in adjusted position.

9. A suction box for paper making machines comprising a hollow casing having lateral flanges forming an integral top, Said flanges leaving an opening between them, a suction connection at one end of the casing, and a removable closure for the other end of the casing to permit flushing, and means mounted on the box for protecting a screen passingover said opening, said means comprising a foraminated integral body, and dovetails on the casing flanges for slidably engaging the same, the apertures formed in the foraminated body of less area at the screen abutting side thereof than at the base.

10. In a device of the character specified, a hollow metal casing, a flange and a plug at one end of the casing, a flange at the other end for connecting with a suction pipe, means for retaining wooden means removable from the casing, said members adapted yto make an opening into the hollow casing and adjustable means of supporting said casing from side frame members of a paper making machine, and slidable members at the ends of said integral piece for blanking off said apertures at the ends of said casing.

JOHN H. REEDY- THOMAS A. CAPE. 

